


Chariot

by write_away



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Canon Era, M/M, Platonic Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 09:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2807480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/write_away/pseuds/write_away
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Enjolras is like a burst of sun and stars and hopelessness that Jehan has never detected before, never seen in those determined eyes, never imagined could radiate from Enjolras. It burns as much as it pleasures, as if fate itself has set its sights upon the pair to torment.</i>
</p><p>Jehan and Enjolras share a quiet moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chariot

**Author's Note:**

> *peeks in* Hello, fandom. It's been quite a while. This was a bit of an experiment in writing style on my part, so I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!
> 
> All my thanks to nothing-rhymes-with-ianto for looking this over last night and giving some great tips!

Jean Prouvaire certainly doesn’t mind the taste of leader on his lips.

He’s exchanged kisses with many, too many to possibly count even in letters and lines and poems, but none have been like kissing Enjolras. Even the prose he writes with the skittering of fingers that press senseless shapes into skin is no measure of intimacy, though he hasn’t forgotten a single word of the longing ones, the desperate ones, the ones that curl gentle smiles against each other while they lay in a tangle of cooled sheets the morning after.

Enjolras is like a burst of sun and stars and hopelessness that Jehan has never detected before, never seen in those determined eyes, never imagined could radiate from Enjolras. It burns as much as it pleasures, as if fate itself has set its sights upon the pair to torment.

They kiss until the burning hurts, and then they do not touch, do not speak, do not smile until the clock has ticked them into an awkward standstill. Jehan spends the time examining every crease in Enjolras’ pensive stare so that perhaps sobriety can someday become poetry. If he ever had a more fragile moment, Jehan would not be able to pinpoint it.

He can hear their friends milling about and clinking glasses full of gold just outside the door. Grantaire had called it ambrosia at first, a delicacy of the gods, a drink fit for kings, but he has not let it touch his lips once.

Jehan thinks he is waiting to see Enjolras.

“Have you done this with every person passing through?” Enjolras asks. He winces as he stands, then shakes his arms and legs experimentally. Even after hours in this room, he is testing them out. Jehan smiles fondly. It is so like Enjolras to not enter the fray until he has mastered every part of himself.

“Only those who wish to,” Jehan confirms. He’d been pleasantly surprised by Enjolras, who leaned into the offered kiss with enthusiasm. “Many just talk. It’s grounding.” Bahorel had screamed himself hoarse and punched a wall. Joly and Bossuet, arriving separately, sat on the floor and wept until reunited.

Enjolras nods, touches his lips as if they might shatter. “I see.” Finally convinced that his body is truly intact, he rolls his shoulders back and sighs. “Have we all passed through?” he asks, gazing over Jehan’s head as if he can ignore the slow nod he receives in reply.

Enjolras swears colorfully and drops back to the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his fists. “I am sorry.”

Jehan almost laughs. Combeferre and Courfeyrac said the same thing. They are so alike that they don’t even know. He wonders if they grew up together, or if they found one another by chance. He regrets that he never asked before.

“There is no need,” Jehan assures him. Enjolras does not warm to his words, though he nearly collapses into the hand Jehan places on his shoulder. “Have peace – Marius flickered away after barely a moment. Plenty of men didn’t show at all. There is a woman out there named Fantine who is fawning over that urchin boy and his sister as if they were her own. The world may remember us and honor our cause. We are well.”

“We are dead.”

Jehan lets the word hang between them for a moment, though he knows it will be no comfort to his friend. _Dead._ It feels like a candle still burning in a pool of wax. He wonders if Enjolras will dip his finger in or if he will blow it out.

Enjolras stands again, takes a purposeful stride toward the door that falters mid-step. He turns, face twisted into anguish. The expression does not deserve to be on his face. “They will be angry with me.”

Jehan only hears laughter and rejoicing. He tips his head toward the door and implores Enjolras to hear it as well. “I think they will be sad to see you,” he admits. “But they will welcome you with open arms.”

“Will you come?” Enjolras asks. He has his ferocity back, and there is no question in his resolve, though he still stands as if he might fall into a pile of dust. The sole hint of anxiety is the quake in his outstretched hand.

Jehan smiles and shakes his head. “Marius will return someday, and I plan to usher him in.” Enjolras’ face falls further; Jehan is quick to add, “Time runs strangely here. We will both be with you soon.”

“Don’t play Charon for too long,” Enjolras warns, though there is a reluctant acceptance to his tone, as with all the others. Feuilly nearly refused to believe him and had lingered for what felt like years. But there is a laugh from the other side of the door and Enjolras is distracted. “It seems like there is a party beyond – and what is a party without Jean Prouvaire?”

“Goodbye,” Jehan reiterates and ushers him out the door. He gets a glimpse of the new world, shining and idealistic and beautiful and filled with the people he loves, just before he shuts the door to wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Feedback is my lifesource, so don't forget to comment or stop by at my [tumblr](http://www.theirdarkreturning.tumblr.com) and send me a message!


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